THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS
by Mordicai Gerstein

1. Bibliography:
Gerstein, Mordicai. THE MAN WHO WALKED BETWEEN THE TOWERS. Connecticut: Roaring Brook Press, 2003. ISBN 0761328688

2. Plot Summary
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers is based upon the true story of a young man known in New York City as the French aerialist, Philippe Petit who placed a tightrope one quarter of a mile one thousand three hundred forty feet in the air between the Twin Towers. On the night of August 6, 1974, Philippe and his friends snuck into the incomplete Twin Towers, up onto the roof and worked diligently throughout the night to secure a large cable that was seven-eighths of an inch thick. At dawn, Philippe began his hour-long tightrope performance for the people below. After he removed himself from the cable, the police arrested him and the judge sentenced him to performing in the park for the children. He was very happy to do this and very happy that walking between the towers on August 7, 1974 fulfilled his dream.



3. Critical Analysis
This Caldecott Medal award winning book details the real-life account of a man accomplishing his goal as he bravely walked a tightrope between the towers is a moving and inspirational story. The story is encouraging for those who dreams and wish to pursue the dreams. The illustrations wonderfully depict the bravery and courage of Philippe as he walked the tightrope. The oil paintings are detailed and give one a feeling of being on the tightrope as if they would be looking down upon the crowd. The fold-out pages provide an added touch to the entire experience.

4. Review Excerpts

From Publishers Weekly
This effectively spare, lyrical account chronicles Philippe Petit's tight rope walk between Manhattan's World Trade Center towers in 1974. Gerstein (What Charlie Heard) begins the book like a fairytale, "Once there were two towers side by side. They were each a quarter of a mile high... The tallest buildings in New York City." The author casts the French aerialist and street performer as the hero: "A young man saw them rise into the sky.... He loved to walk and dance on a rope he tied between two trees." As the man makes his way across the rope from one tree to the other, the towers loom in the background. When Philippe gazes at the twin buildings, he looks "not at the towers but at the space between them.... What a wonderful place to stretch a rope; a wire on which to walk." Disguised as construction workers, he and a friend haul a 440-pound reel of cable and other materials onto the roof of the south tower. How Philippe and his pal shang the cable over the 140-feet distance is in itself a fascinating-and harrowing-story, charted in a series of vertical and horizontal ink and oil panels. An inventive foldout tracking Philippe's progress across the wire offers dizzying views of the city below; a turn of the page transforms readers' vantage point into a vertical view of the feat from street level. When police race to the top of one tower's roof, threatening arrest, Philippe moves back and forth between the towers ("As long as he stayed on the wire he was free"). Gerstein's dramatic paintings include some perspectives bound to take any reader's breath away. Truly affecting is the book's final painting of the imagined imprint of the towers, now existing "in memory"-linked by Philippe and his high wire. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information. --This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Connections: Read the story aloud to children ages 5 - 8. Re-read the story and ask the children to pretend they are holding a balancing item in their hands and walking between the towers. If possible, have lines made from tape and ask the children to pretend they are high in the air while walking on the tape lines. See how many can walk on the straight line then encourage them to add a few dance moves, hops, turns etc.
Ask the children to write in their journal how they felt walking on their tightrope and how they think Philippe felt. Illustrate a photo relating to the story.

Additional stories by Mordicai Gerstein include:
The Wild Boy. ISBN September 25, 2002. 978-0374483968
Leaving the Nest. February 20, 2007. ISBN 978-0374343699
The Mountains of Tibet. September 7, 1989. ISBN 978-0064432115